Sausage Party – 4/5 – Movie Reviews by Ry!
Sausage Party – 4/5 – There are experiences that are best describe as truly unique. Within that unique take, you can find something that goes beyond the basic use of genres, character designs and situations. Every so often, there is a film that gives you this kind of experience. With Sausage Party, it gives you an experience that is beyond what is on the surface. A film that pushes the R rating to its limits, this movie goes deeper within its direct circumstance. Through all the obnoxious, offensive and stereotypical comedic tropes; there is something here that opens the audience’s eyes to society of today. Sausage Party is not meant for kids, but it is one that will make you laugh and aware at the same time. This film is one of the funniest comedies in a very long time.
Premise: One lonely sausage by the name of Frank discover the hard truth of his and everyone’s life. With existence proven; he must journey to find a way and show everyone the truth of The Great Beyond.
The voice acting is extensive. I would recommend referring to the film’s IMDb page. In short, the voice actors/actresses do a fantastic job in creating fun, believable and outrageous characters. With the animated feature creating life like food products on screen, having distinct personalities are important. No matter if it is talking sausages, hot dog buns, bagels or even leftover pizza, you feel the angst, emotion and veracity of their lives. There is a lot of heart and awareness found in the dual layer meaning of each the characters’ personal issues. No matter if its aspects of their relationships with each other or other food related products; you feel the power, heart and worth in each of them. You will see an abundances of clichés, but its poignancy is how that simple conjecture brings out the obviousness with a sense of self-reflection. Even if the character models are basic; you understand the seeds of realization afterwards. This is true for the main and ancillary characters. There is a lively nature of social aspects all around, which creates a believable environment. That makes the simple take of the ‘food models’ all more pristine, pure and enlightening. Even for the characterization, it is still comical genius at its peak.
The direction goes along a simplistic storyline. You have the main character(s) that face an unlikely dilemma and must go on a ‘journey’ to prove truth. Within the context of this simple outline, the film relies heavily on two things:
- Raunchy/blunt comedy
- Social awareness
Let me preface that this feature tackles the story within an obscured, obnoxious and offensive way. With that, what you have is an animated film based around foods at a grocery store. They ‘believe’ that their Gods (human beings) are benevolent and will bring them to ‘The Great Beyond’. Once the main character (Frank) finds out the truth, he must find a way to prove the actualization to all his fellow food mates at the grocery store. The hard part is proving something that all of them believe to be true. As the basic details unfold, you see that the film begins to provide a window of society. Through the various foods portrayed on screen, it gives thematic detail of the divisive ideologies and beliefs that drives everyday life. That dual layering tackles stereotypes, clichés and social divisions head on and flips it on its head. It brings a keen eye upon problems through the use of hard, blunt comedy and double entendres. That ‘self-reflective’ nature may cause some heads to spin, but at the same time it provides a catalyst for the audience and characters to face various truths. By taking offensive statures towards everything in society, it helps harden an approach through the comical nature of dialogue. Everything is obvious of facts, but delicately woven through characterization and genuine laughs. It creates an original tale within the use of common tropes, plot points and character models. That, in itself, creates a film that’s comprehensive within multiple themes; a basic animated feature that pushes the R rating to its limits with reflections of social, political and religious issues. There is something unique when you can combine raunchy/offensive comedy with deep social issues. It is ironic in nature, but factual by detail. Once you get to the end, you realize that this is an experience that won’t be ever explained.
The visuals are basic when it comes to an animated feature. The modeling of the human and food designs are cartoonish in nature. There isn’t much to the way of expressive detail; but the obvious thing is that the cinematography wasn’t going to be the enrapturing part of the story. There are some great motifs of some iconic film scenes, but otherwise nothing here is excellent. The score isn’t a big part of the film’s story. There are strong aspects in the beginning with a ‘musical’; but otherwise it is mute at best.
Sausage Party is a film that is not meant for everyone; especially kids. Being an animated feature, you see that they are able to push the boundaries of the R rating. Even in the most obscured way, the film’s obvious nature of real social issues helps it stand out within its raunchy setting. As mentioned, this is one of the funniest films this year. If you’re a fan of anything Seth Rogan, you will find something fun here to watch. This is worth a full price at the theaters; something fun for you and your friends.